Gompers (Samuel) Park

Alert

Please be advised: The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning. Due to expected high winds, the Lakefront Trails will be closed from Oak St. to Ohio St. and the Navy Pier Flyover beginning at 12 a.m. on Saturday, January 19, until conditions improve and are safer for use by our patrons and crews. Please check back for updates.

Get your fishing on!

Welcome to Gompers Park

Samuel Gompers Statue

New Playground at Gompers Park

New playground at Gompers Park.

Kids Fitness

Lagoon with fishing pier

Location:

4222 W. Foster Ave.
Chicago, IL 60630

Supervisor: Denise Raymond

Phone Numbers:
Main
(773) 685-3270

Features:Parks

Hours

Park
Hours

Sunday:

6:00 am-11:00 pm

Monday:

6:00 am-11:00 pm

Tuesday:

6:00 am-11:00 pm

Wednesday:

6:00 am-11:00 pm

Thursday:

6:00 am-11:00 pm

Friday:

6:00 am-11:00 pm

Saturday:

6:00 am-11:00 pm

Fieldhouse Hours

Sunday

Closed

Monday

9:00 am-9:00 pm

Tuesday

9:00 am-9:00 pm

Wednesday

9:00 am-9:00 pm

Thursday

9:00 am-9:00 pm

Friday

9:00 am-9:00 pm

Saturday

9:00 am-5:00 pm

Description

Located at the corner of Foster and Pulaski Avenues in the North Park community, Gompers Park covers 42.17 acres. The park straddles the Chicago River and features rehabilitated wetlands and a lagoon with pier access that lends itself to many environmental activities.

The park hosts a Uban Camp and Under Illinois Sky, Family Campout, River Rescue Clean-up, as well as stewardship and gardening opportunities.

In addition to an outdoor pool, Gompers Park has a playground, three junior baseball fields, one football field, one basketball courts, five tennis courts, a roller hockey-skating area, and a spray pool. Inside the fieldhouse are several activity rooms, a gymnasium, and an auditorium with a stage.

Youth participate in sports such as basketball, volleyball, floor hockey, and soccer. Other popular activities include Kids Nite Out, tap, ballet, Park Kids after school program and gymnastics.

Teens enjoy basketball and gymnastics - as well as getting involved with the new park teen club.

Seniors can participate in conditioning and stretching classes.

History

Gompers Park was created by the Albany Park District, one of 22 independent park districts consolidated into the Chicago Park District in 1934. In 1926, not long after the Albany Park District identified nearly 40 acres of wooded farmland along the North Branch of the Chicago River, landscape architect Henry J. Stockman prepared a plan to transform the property into parkland. Improvements began almost as soon as initial land purchases were completed in 1927. By 1932, in addition to wooded areas and a natural stream dammed to create lagoons, the property had basketball courts, archery ranges, football fields, and playgrounds. Clarence Hatzfeld, a Chicago architect and member of the Albany Park board, designed the park's Tudor Revival-style fieldhouse. In 1934, financial pressures created by the Great Depression prompted formation of the Chicago Park District. Using federal funding through the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the park district soon began rehabilitating the southern portion of the park, constructing tennis courts, a footbridge over the river, a dam and spillway for the lower lagoon. After adding a wading pool in 1946, the park district built a full-sized swimming pool 30 years later. In the mid-1990s, with tremendous community support, the park district began restoring the wetlands along the south bank of the river according to plans prepared by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In its earliest days, Gompers Park was briefly known as Matson Park, for Samuel Matson, Superintendent of the Albany Park District. Albany Park District President Henry A. Schwartz, an official of the shoemakers' union, soon convinced the park board that it was inappropriate to name the park for a living person. In 1929, the district renamed the site in honor of Samuel Gompers (1850-1924), long-time president of the American Federation of Labor. Elected president of his local cigar makers' union in 1875, Gompers progressed quickly through the ranks, becoming the AFL's first president in 1886. During his 40-year tenure, AFL membership grew from 150,000 to 2,900,000, and the average wage for skilled labor increased by 250%

Programs

Registration dates vary by park. The dates listed below are specific to this park.

2019 Winter: Zone 1: West of California

Most programs run from Monday, January 07 to Sunday, March 17.

Online registration begins Monday, December 03.

In-person registration begins Saturday, December 08.

Click on a program name below for description, availability and to add to your wish list or register online (if available). For activities that have already begun, registration is ongoing while spots are available.